Because of the Estrogen and Because of Cora and Hook
by JMolover13
Summary: Set in season 2. Emma returns from Fairytale Land pregnant from a one night stand. But she and Regina were so close before the wraith took her. What will happen now? This is a one-shot with two versions. Please see the author's notes inside the chapters.
1. Because of the Estrogen

**Because of the Estrogen**

**pamrenea asked you: so I dont ususally do the prompts. But i love the things I've read that you wrote.I'm new to SQ. But i would like to see a prompt where, Emma returns from FTL pregnant from a one night stand, she finds out the news just as she and Regina are sorting out thier feelings each other. But Regina surprises herself and Emma as she steps up to the plate. Can be a mix of fluff and early angst.**

**AN: This is a one shot that took two very different turns when I was writing it. I like both versions even though they are very, very different from the sentence 'Emma was nauseous' on (if you hit control (or command) f and type that sentence then you will get to the point that they are different). I wrote the second chapter first, but this is what I was originally intending when I set out to write this fic; it's a little serious at the beginning then turns funny and fluffy. However, I like the other one, which is a little more serious throughout the entire story, so I decided to put it up as well. I hope you enjoy them both!**

Emma looked at the three different sticks. All of them read 'pregnant'.

"God, damn it."

She stood up, placed them back in the packages and the packages back in the paper sack. She carefully moved around her room, selecting a thick, bulky sweater over her usual leather jacket and gathered her keys, wallet and phone. She then grabbed the paper sack and moved to the front of the apartment.

It had thankfully been the first time she was alone since she and Mommy Margaret got back to Storybrooke. It seemed everyone had to stop by and make sure they were all right. People she'd never even heard of, people she'd only met once—they all came bearing goodies and sympathies and 'glad you're back's. She just needed time.

She'd opened the door to go to an alleyway dumpster and dispose of the pregnancy tests—the last thing she needed was her mother, her father or her son looking in the trash and seeing the pregnancy tests. Snow knew that something happened between her and Hook, but she didn't know specifically what it was. And Emma sure wasn't planning on advertising her sexcapade with the arrogant pirate.

She saw black boots in her line of vision as she looked down, ducking her way out of the apartment. "Regina." She looked up to brown eyes that showed the woman's every weakness. She hid the bag behind her back, "What.. are you doing here?"

Regina swallowed hard, "I'm not sure… I just… I needed to see you. See for myself that you were really okay."

"You have seen me. You made positive that Snow and I got through the portal…"

"I know, but that was all too brief. Especially…" Regina trailed off. She sucked in her bottom lip and looked to the ground.

Emma nodded, "I know." She nodded again and stepped aside, "You want to come in?"

"You were going somewhere…?" Regina pointed out.

"Yeah… Just to a dumpster. It can wait."

"Why a dumpster?"

Emma shook her head, "Doesn't matter." She turned, keeping the paper bag from view and walked to the kitchen counter, slipping the bag between the two potted plants that took over the breakfast bar. She turned back around, "You want anything? Coffee? Water? We might have juice…"

Regina shook her head, "I'm fine."

Emma nodded and pursed her lips to the side, "So… What are we going to talk about?"

"Why you kissed me."

"Which time?"

Regina sucked in a quick breath, "All three of them." She looked down a moment.

The brunette looked despondent and perplexed. Emma couldn't help the sad smile that came to her face as she walked back to the couch the other woman was standing in front of and sat down. She silently gestured for the brunette to sit with her and once Regina did, Emma took a couple of deep breaths before she began, "I don't know… The first time. I don't know why." She shrugged. "The mob tried to take you and we wouldn't let them. Ruby was watching Henry and you needed someone too. So, I followed you inside the mansion. When you turned and looked at me in that questioning, half-angry, half-hopeful way… I just kissed you. I guess I just wanted to."

Regina stared at her with undivided attention. "And the second?"

The blonde looked down at the coffee table. It took her a moment to form the right words, but even the right words got mixed up with her hormones now racing through her body, and what came out was, "I thought the wraith was going to take you away from me."

"So you kissed me to what? Stop it?"

"I kissed you so that you knew that the mansion kiss wasn't just a fluke, or a one-time thing, or a seizing the opportunity event. That it meant something."

Regina swallowed audibly, causing Emma to look to her blinking eyes. The brunette turned away quickly and tried to subtly wipe her eyes, "And the third?" She asked after turning back to the blonde.

"The third was a thank you for sucking up all that magic to let me and Mary Margaret back through the portal. And to tell you that you still meant something to me." Emma leaned in and kissed Regina's cheek, "And that was to tell you that you still mean something to me, but I don't expect anything."

Regina bit her lip, nodding. She looked off in thought before looking to the blonde again, "So, what does that mean? You don't expect anything?"

"It means that some stuff happened over in the enchanted forest, and… I can't…" Emma shook her head, "I have to take responsibility for them. I have to own up to the mistakes I made. And you shouldn't feel obligated to help me, you shouldn't help me at all." She turned away from the other woman. Standing to get out of feeling so constricted and angry with herself and possibly that the woman before her would be angry with her too.

Regina knit her brows, "What are you talking about? What mistakes? Talking to my mother about Henry? It's no big deal. She can't come here… there's no way left."

"No." Emma laughed dejectedly, angrily at herself, "Not telling Cora that we share a son." She moved to the breakfast bar, sat on a stool and stared at the paper bag she'd hidden. "For letting myself break." She spoke quietly as she reached forward and fingered the bag.

"Letting yourself break? You shouldn't apologize for that… I mean… I should apologize to you… I did it to you, after all. If I hadn't cast the curse, you would have grown up with a happy family in the enchanted forest. None of this would be shocking to you; you'd be able to accept the things, the people, the characters that we all are… Don't apologize for breaking in a place that was probably too overwhelming for your own good. I mean… All things considered, you seem to be taking everything in stride. It's surprising really, how well you're doing…"

"I slept with Captain Hook." Emma didn't look to Regina's eyes, only her general direction, "When there are things that I can't handle emotionally or mentally, or if I'm just too stressed to think, I usually find a man and scratch an itch." She paused a moment, "We found Hook and kind of..used him as a navigator-slash-prisoner. At a certain point, I knew he wouldn't try to get away, so I took the ropes tying his arms together off. He offered to help me go look for a dinner after I got into it with Mulan for ragging on Mommy Margaret. I took him up on it, just because I thought I'd have a chance to..breathe or something… And I did get a chance to breathe…"

"Or something…" Regina couldn't help the dejected tone that came from her.

"Regina—"

"No." Regina shook her head, "Please don't. Don't do whatever it is you're about to do… I don't… I don't think I can handle it." She stood and turned from the blonde.

"So this is ending before it even started?" Emma wasn't ashamed of the tears that sprang to her eyes.

Regina whipped back around to face Emma, "What 'this'? There is no 'this'." She moved to the front door, putting on her coat and gloves.

"There is." Emma's voice was small.

Regina wouldn't have heard her if she wasn't listening for a retort. She opened the door. Before taking a step to the hallway, she turned her head to the side, "I just need time to think about all of this."

"I have options. I still have enough time to have options." Emma got up and moved halfway between the counter and the door.

Regina turned fully to the blonde with a fierce look in her eyes, "You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting. You're not suggesting of exercising your right to choose for me."

"I wouldn't do it for you… I'd do it for me… and for us."

"No." It was a simple word. But the woman packed a punch behind it. She left with a slam of the door.

Emma of course regretted ever making the suggestion. She knew in the long run, she wouldn't choose to abort. But it was a nice option to think about when you've only just met and started a relationship with your other child that you chose to give up for adoption, you just found out that your parents are fairytale characters and also have been frozen in time so they're your age, the woman you have come to realize you have deep impenetrable feelings for is the same woman who tried to kill your fairytale parents, and your newest baby daddy is also a fairytale character—and most importantly, all of this is happening when none of it could be possible. The option of being able to choose was nice; at least she had the ability to choose something in her life. Even though she knew she'd never exercise that right personally. It was nice to know it was there.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma was in the diner. She was way far on the other side of the diner from the Mayor—she had to give her time and respect, or was trying to or whatever. She was just getting ready to enjoy a delicious bacon cheeseburger. It was greasy, but not too much to be completely disgusting. There was no lettuce or tomato getting in her way, it was just the beef, the cheese, the bacon, and the secret amazing sauce that's not plain mayonnaise. Lunchtime was about to be on like Donkey Kong.

That was right up until the burger was ripped from her eager clutches and taken away by none other than the Mayor herself.

"Hey!" Emma watched Regina put the burger back in the basket and push it to the other side of the table. She watched as the woman's other hand placed a different basket in front of her. "What the hell is this?"

"It's a bruschetta chicken sandwich with fruit, Greek yogurt and a miniscule amount of fries as sides."

Emma reached for her soda, but Regina was quick to take that away too. "What the freaking hell?!" She looked up angry at the other woman as she watched her walk away with her meal, place it on the counter, lean in to Ruby asking her something, then come back with two glasses of water.

"Red meat is bad during…" Regina trailed off knowing Emma probably hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy.

"Since when?"

"Since I read the books and that's what they said." The brunette's stern, angry tone came out in a huff as she sat down. "You have to change your diet for a while. No red meats. And if you do slip, you cannot, CANNOT eat it if there is pink in the middle."

"That burger didn't have pink in the middle!"

"You eat burgers and steaks at medium. There was pink." The brunette's voice was deadpan.

"Let me eat the burger!"

"No."

Emma huffed, knowing she wasn't going to get the brunette to change her mind. She dug into the broomhilde chicken or whatever the crap sandwich. She was surprised to find it wasn't awful. It wasn't a bacon cheeseburger, but it was okay. After a few bites, she looked up to see that Regina had her eyes closed. She looked like she was in pain, or trying to hide pain.

"…Regina?" Her voice was soft.

"Don't. Not yet."

"I'm sorry." Emma tried.

"I know." Regina breathed the words out.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma had been hiding. She was hiding in her room at home and hiding in her office at work. She didn't do anything unless it was asked of her and she didn't go anywhere unless forced.

Regina walked into the Sheriff's station. It had been two weeks since Emma told her she was pregnant and a week and a half since the diner incident. And She knew that Emma hadn't done shit to schedule a doctor's appointment.

She looked into the inner office to see the door closed and the blinds drawn. With narrowed eyes and a purse of her lips, she walked up to the door and twisted the knob.

It was locked.

No worries. She took off a glove and let magic flow through her fingers. It took no effort to open the door this time.

Emma looked up from her iPad in surprise, "Hey! How did you get in?"

"Magic." Regina gave the sheriff a look.

"Oh…" After another moment, when Regina turned around to the coat rack, Emma decided it was safe to go back to Temple Run: Brave Edition.

"Come along, Sheriff." Regina stopped her from getting invested, after finding the blonde's coat, and tried to hand it to her, "You can bring your toy."

"Wha—It's not a toy! It's an electronic device that let's you handle business and millions of other things all in pretty, pretty packaging."

"Yes, and you watch Netflix or play games. It's your toy. Let's go." Regina tried to hand her, her coat again.

"Okay, okay!" Emma shut the case of her iPad and stood, taking the proffered coat. She knit her brows, "Wait… Where are we going?"

"The doctor."

"What? No! I don't need—"

"Did you exercise your right to choose?"

"NO!" Emma gave the other woman a glare, "I never was going to! But—"

"Then you need to go to the doctor." Regina crossed her arms and waited. A standoff that she'd had what felt like billions of times with their son. She now knew where he got the defiance for defiance's sake from, "Spit spot."

Emma glared at the desk as she jerked her way into her jacket, "I don't _need_ to go to the doctor."

"Yes, you do. You need to go for your first exam and to get your vitamins."

"But I'm busy!"

"Yes, I can see that." Regina moved to the office door and waited, arms crossed. She wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

And Emma knew that. So, after buttoning herself up and putting on her gloves, She grabbed her iPad and moved to the exit. She stared with as much intensity as she could muster at the brunette, keeping her from moving, and when she got close enough to really stare into Regina's eyes and touch her arm, she did, "I was never going to get an abortion."

"Then why did you suggest it?" Regina asked unimpressed with the words that came from the blonde.

"Because I didn't want you to leave."

"You were trying to say anything that would get me to stay?" The sarcasm was not lost on the blonde's ears.

"Yes."

Regina pulled from their closeness and looked at the other woman sternly, studying her, "And you thought… with everything you've known, could have known about me, that suggesting killing the fetus growing in your belly would be a way to get me to stay?"

"I was desperate. Being desperate doesn't make you smart. It's makes you desperate."

"I left because of what you said."

"You left because you couldn't be around me, not because of what I said."

"It was partly because of what you said." Regina willed the blonde to accept that statement.

Emma nodded, "I know. It pushed you out rather than pulled you back in. And that's why I needed to tell you that I was never—"

"Okay." Regina interrupted. Her closed eyes told Emma more than her open ones would have. She was hurting Regina more by telling her that. She was still causing her pain. When the mayor opened her eyes, a mask was put on, "Let's get you to the doctor."

"Okay." Emma let the older woman lead the way.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma was nauseous.

"Hey, Emma? Ruby just called. She said she saw Pongo on the loose…"

Emma brought her head from her desk to look at her father to beg him to go chase the dog down.

"Emma, dear? Are you all right?" Snow was quick to move from the desk in the main office to Emma's side. She took her face, "You look a little green."

"It's not easy." Emma tried to joke, but her feeling nauseous finally caught up with her. She grabbed the trashcan under her desk and let her breakfast go.

"Oh my gods!" Snow jumped back.

Charming quickly moved into the inner office. He waited a moment, "Listen, Emma… Snow and I will take care of it."

"Thank you." Emma nodded as she came up for air.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma walked across the street at lunchtime. She sat in a booth and looked at the burger choices wantonly, but held back.

"You know what you want, Sheriff?" Ruby looked at her differently than she ever had before.

"Yeah, can I get that broom-sheet or whatever chicken sandwich? And fruit and greek yogurt and fries? Maybe more fries than you would give Regina?"

"Okay…" The werewolf eyed her, "Anything else?"

"Uh… no soda or coffee…" She mumbled to herself, "Cocoa!" She was now excited, "Can I have cocoa please?"

"Good girl." Ruby winked and walked over to the counter to place her order in.

Emma stared at her as the waitress pranced around getting refills and other orders. She stared until the woman came back with her hot cocoa. "What did you mean, 'good girl'?"

Ruby looked to the side and back to the blonde, "I just… I mean that you're making healthier choices for the most part. That's awesome."

"You're looking at me funny. And you just lied to me." Emma crossed her arms and waited for a real answer.

Ruby pursed her lips in thought before she bent down and looked the Sheriff in the eyes, "I know." She stared until Emma's eyes shifted from expectance to terror, "I'm not going to tell anyone. But I know. Regina confirmed."

"…Regina confirmed?"

"Yeah, see… I could smell it like a month and a half ago. And when she took your burger away, I knew you knew and she knew and she only told me that what I was thinking I was smelling was right. Then she asked for two waters."

When Emma said nothing more, Ruby walked back behind the diner.

Emma sat there, turning her mug in circles. Estrogen running rampant; emotions flowing because of the estrogen. A sudden wave of sadness came over her. "Ruby?" Emma whispered looking up to the waitress leaning against the diner. The wolf girl was quick to look at her in question, "She say anything? In the last month? About me?"

Ruby bit her lip as she held back the sympathy tears for her friend. She shrugged and decided she needed to walk back over to the sheriff. She sat down next to the blonde. "She asks about you. But she doesn't ask much more than what you're ordering."

Emma nodded with tears in her own eyes, "At least she's asking." She sat back; willing the tears back in her eyes, "Damn it." She tried to laugh the emotions off, but that just led to an inevitable sigh, "We were so close. She was it. The one you always dream about, you know?" She looked back to Ruby with no emotion on her face, the mask clearly on for her own and everyone else's protection.

"I do." Ruby nodded. She rubbed the blonde's back a moment, "I really do. And you were… so close." She took a breath, "Can I ask you why?" She glanced down to Emma's belly.

Emma shook her head, "I was pissed. I was sad. I was angry. I was mad. I was confused. I was lonely. I was overwhelmed. He was there at a convenient moment. I just wanted… I wanted to be in control of something. I needed a release. I needed to feel something aside from feeling like I was drowning all the time. I needed human contact that wasn't a touch of comfort from Mommy Margaret. I needed to be myself. I needed to find myself…" Emma shrugged, "There are a million different excuses. Fact of the matter is, I was weak and I broke and it was convenient. And I regret it every damn day because…" The mask shattered and quickly another set of tears came forward and fell from her eyes, "Because I hurt her. And she's been hurt way too many times already, way more than I've ever been. And now I'm just another name on the list that's hurt her. There's nothing I can do." She shook her head before hiding her face from onlookers, "Shit. All this damn extra estrogen. I can't control myself."

The door chimed and Regina walked in. Once she saw Ruby and a hiding, shaking Emma, she walked over. Ruby was quick to move out of the booth and push Regina into her spot. Regina placed a hand on the sheriff's back and began rubbing, just like Ruby had been doing. When she looked to the waitress with questioning eyes, Ruby simply whispered, "It's because of the estrogen."

Regina pulled the blonde tighter against her after realizing that that was all she was going to get from the waitress. She turned the blonde into her and held her, trying to calm her.

It wasn't more than five minutes before Charming and Snow came into the diner with frantic, scared looks in their eyes. It didn't help when they saw Regina with their crying daughter.

"What did you do to her?" Snow asked with a worried, angry tone.

"Nothing! I came in and she was like this with Ruby." Regina spoke softly as she defended herself from under the blonde's body, which was now clutching onto her like a vise.

"Regina?" Emma pulled from the woman's neck and looked at her. Tears stopped for the time being and she wiped her eyes, nose and mouth, "Where did Ruby go?"

Ruby came back over with Emma's lunch and set it on the table, "Yeah, I got the hell out of dodge. I don't do crying in public for the world to see. I don't like to comfort it much either… unless you're a pregnant woman. Then I wait as patiently as possible for someone else to come in and take my place."

"Wait, 'pregnant woman'?" Snow looked from Ruby to Emma and back to Ruby and back to Emma, "_Pregnant_ woman?"

Charming stared at Emma for a moment, "How can you get pregnant?"

"Oh it's like riding a bike. Once you know how, you don't forget. Probably get better at it." Emma let her head rest on Regina's shoulder, soaking up any contact from the other woman as she could.

"Okay, but… how?" he looked at the comfortable position the mayor and the sheriff were in, "Did you… can you—did you make a magical baby?"

"There are magical babies?" Emma looked from her father to Regina.

"Yes." Regina nodded.

"Oh my gods." Snow stared at her confused daughter—thankful that she was in fact confused because that meant that she wasn't sleeping with Regina. Her outburst though, caused everyone to stare at her as she put the pieces together of who could have gotten her daughter pregnant, "Hook."

"Mary Margaret!" Emma looked down. "Not now. Please." She felt tears springing up again, "Damn estrogen." She fell back into Regina's neck.

"Okay!" Regina cut off Mary Margaret, Charming, Ruby and any of the other patrons that looked like they were about two seconds from giving their two cents, "Listen. She's a little too emotional right now." She looked at the lunch, "I'm going to ask if I might be able to magic her meal into a to-go box and cup?" she looked to Ruby who nodded almost as if pleading with the other woman to take the crying, pregnant lady out of there. "Thank you." She waved her hand over the meal then made sure she was holding both the cup and box, "Now, I'm going to magic the two of us out of here. I will bring her to the apartment when she thinks she can handle it, all right?" She didn't wait for Charming or Snow to answer.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma looked up when she felt herself materialize, "Where are we?"

"My bedroom." Regina spoke softly as she set the food on her nightstand and looked at the blonde, "Are you all right?"

Emma shook her head and wiped her face, "I should go."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do. Thanks for getting me out of the diner…" She stood and made her way around the bed and picked up her food, "And thanks for getting me out of the diner with my food." She smiled a sad smile. "I'll try not to bother you anymore."

"Why are you leaving?" Regina sat up on the bed and inched to the edge when Emma stopped at the doorway.

"I don't need to hurt you anymore. I _can't _let myself hurt you anymore…" The blonde sighed, "I just… I need to leave."

"You're not hurting me right now." Her words stopped the blonde again.

Emma turned, "What?"

Regina shook her head, "You're not hurting me…" She sighed, "I said I needed time. And you did and are still doing your damndest to give it to me. But I don't need it anymore. I've thought. All I've done is think."

She reached out for the blonde and Emma's feet quickly got in gear, "And I've come to a conclusion." She said as she took Emma's food from her hands and once more set them on the nightstand. She then turned to the blonde and placed her hands on Emma's hips, staring at her still flat stomach.

She let her thumbs trace the blonde's hips, and after a moment she looked up into hopeful green orbs, "And the conclusion, no matter the pathway I take to get there, is that I want you. I'm falling deeply, passionately, irrevocably in love with you." She leaned in and kissed Emma's tummy. "I will love this baby. I will cherish this baby… as long as I can cherish you too."

Emma's chin was quivering. She was blinking repeatedly in quick succession. She was trying to keep herself together long enough to respond.

Regina stared at the woman that was just barely hanging on by a thread, "Are you going to let me cherish you?" Emma nodded vigorously. "Are you trying not to cry again?" Again, another vigorous nod. Regina nodded slowly with her as she pushed the blonde a step back and stood up, "You can cry, my love. I'll let you cry. I'll still be here."

Emma opened her mouth, "It's… it's…" She couldn't even get another word out; the sob was quick to let itself go despite her best effort.

"It's because of the estrogen. I know." Regina provided as she hugged the blonde and kissed her neck. "And that's okay."

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Okay, well… Wait…" Dr. Whale leaned into the screen a little more as he held the wand on Emma's stomach. He started to look back to Regina and Emma only to give the screen another look, and almost give himself whiplash as he did the same thing a few times over, "Yes… Interesting."

"What?!" Emma asked him impatiently.

"Darling." Regina calmed the blonde down with a squeeze of a hand with one hand and a brush of her hair and caress of her cheek with the other.

Dr. Whale turned from the screen of the sonogram confidently this time, "It looks like both heartbeats are strong."

"Well that's good 'cause I'm gonna have a baby." Emma spoke her thoughts aloud.

"Emma…" Regina kept petting blonde curls as she stared at Dr. Whale, "_Both_ heartbeats?"

"Yes. It seems that little mister is gonna have a sister." Whale looked between the two of them.

"How?" Emma asked.

"Magic." Dr. Whale looked pointedly to Regina, "Especially considering sister is just as developed as mister."

Regina gave the doctor a look, "Why are you looking at me like I did it to her? She's got magic as well!"

Whale looked back to Emma, though he highly doubted between the two of them that Emma was the culprit, "Sheriff Swan, have you been messing with magic?"

Emma gave him a hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar look. She shook her head, "No! Honest! I wasn't messing with magic. I just looked at this magic book on magical babies in the library…" When she got the same obvious look from both of them she crossed her arms, "What?! I was curious…"

Regina rolled her eyes, "Oh, Emma…" She placed a hand on her own forehead, and brought her other arm up to hold her position. Not even a moment later she came out from hiding as she twisted her hand to cover her mouth and stared at her lover, "You didn't."

"I… What?" Emma looked between the two of them.

Dr. Whale chuckled as Regina sighed again, "Darling, a person with as much magic as yourself and as little control as you have should not go around reading how magical babies get made."

"Why?"

"Because more often than not you wind up with an ankle-biter the next time you…" Dr. Whale trialed off, not wanting to say the S-E-X word in front of the town Mayor and the town Sheriff.

"Oh!" Emma gasped in realization, "How was I supposed to know that?"

"You weren't." Regina looked down at Emma lovingly. She then leaned down and kissed her cheek before looking to Whale, "I can only assume that sister's as far along because we already had mister from… him?" Regina was still a little uncomfortable with saying Hook's name. She was in love with the baby and the baby mommy, but not the baby daddy.

"Yes, that's the only thing I can think of that would speed the process up so much."

"So… wait. I'm still due in three months, right? But now I have a boy baby and a girl baby and one of them is Hook's and the other is Regina's," She gave a pointed look to her girlfriend, "And baby girl got made in the last month or so, but she's still coming at the same time as baby boy."

"Yes." Dr. Whale nodded.

"Is that why my everything has been hurting so much? I've had a baby growing at like… 900,000 times the speed it's supposed to?"

"Yes." The good doctor chuckled with another nod. "You want to get a print out?" He asked as he pointed to the sonogram once more.

"Yes." They both nodded.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Two babies?" Charming asked as he and Snow sat at their kitchen table.

"Yes." Emma nodded, sitting at the counter, leaning into Regina who was rubbing her sore back muscles. "We're going to call them 'the twins' because they're gonna come out of me on the same day, hopefully pretty close to each other so I don't die or really, super want to when they're out."

"We're going to need to get a bigger place…" He looked to his wife who nodded.

"Actually...!" Regina stopped their thought process immediately, "I was hoping to have Emma and Henry and the twins move in and back in with me?" She looked to Emma, "If you want to?"

"Yeah?" Emma asked like she thought that was the cutest thing Regina had ever said.

"Yes."

"Well, I know I'd like to live with at least one of my babies' other parents—Oh my God, I sound like such a slut-faced whore." Emma looked down to the counter.

"You're not a slut-faced whore." Regina smiled at her love's self-degradation.

"But… I have three children and two baby daddies and one baby mommy… That's pretty whorish."

"The Savior ladies and gentlemen." Snow announced as she leaned against Charming.

Regina glared to the raven-haired woman before turning Emma to her, "Darling, you were a child yourself with your first child. And the twins… it's just…" Regina shrugged as she thought of a word, "Unfortunately fortunate happenstance." She kissed Emma's forehead.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Look at you!" Astrid smiled happily as Emma approached the candle booth at the Miner's Day festival. "You're about to pop, huh?"

"Yes I am." Emma nodded, "Any day now."

"I can't wait to see their cute, little, chubby faces." She turned to Grumpy, "Won't they be adorable!?"

"Yes, dear." Grumpy nodded as if he'd said the words a thousand times.

Emma smiled, "Look at you two, already settled into married life with the 'yes dears'?" She looked to Grumpy.

"Watch it, Sister. You know we're only engaged."

"Oh, right… My bad." She gave him a look before turning to Astrid, "Hey, why don't you put the wedding off for another two years? That way little mister and little sister can be the ring boy and flower girl!"

"Sister!" Grumpy gave her an angry look.

"That's what you get for not letting me have innocent fun when I'm the size of a hot air balloon."

"You look adorable." Astrid tried to reason, "You should be pregnant all the time."

Emma gave the no-longer-a-nun a scary look, "Astrid, listen to me… You will one day have a child in your belly. It's the miracle of life. It's beautiful. It's also disgusting as hell. I get hot-flashes, I sweat in..places I'm not supposed to sweat, I'm in constant pain, these two fight and play all the time, I don't think they sleep! So, no… I don't wish that on my worst enemy… being pregnant all the time. Astrid! _Never_ say that again."

Astrid and Grumpy stared at the Sheriff with slightly dropped jaws and unblinking eyes.

Emma looked down, despite their stare, "Oh, are these apple cinnamon?" She picked up a candle a smelt it.

"Uh huh." Astrid nodded.

"Regina's gonna love this." Emma handed over some money and took the candle.

The couple kept staring, now at the vacant spot the sheriff took up. Regina came over with a funnel cake and a candy apple. "Did she scar you for life? She doesn't have a filter now that she's this pregnant… Not that she had much of one before.."

"She uh… She doesn't want to be pregnant for forever." Astrid looked to Regina finally blinking, "I was just trying to give a compliment."

Regina nodded, "And she gave you the pregnancy sucks and this is why spiel?" Astrid nodded, "I'm sorry. It's really a lot more fun than she makes it sound." She tried to find the blonde before she mentally scarred anyone else and saw her hugging Henry and Henry looking utterly confused, "Oh my…" She started walking their way, "She's just… It's all the estrogen. That's what we blame it on. That and all the magic that she doesn't know how to handle, which I think just clumps in with estrogen at this point…"

"It's all right." Grumpy scooted Regina along.

"She really means no harm." Regina gave an apologetic smile to the couple before getting to her son and girlfriend, "Darling?"

"Hm?" Emma looked to the brunette with a million emotions in her eyes.

"I have fair food for you."

"I get to eat fair food?" Emma asked, pushing Henry to the side.

"Yes, because you are almost not pregnant now and you deserve to eat fair food after nine months of being so good." She gave the blonde the funnel cake and looked to their son, "You okay?"

"I… Yeah…?" Henry nodded, "I was just talking to Paige and she just came over and started hugging me…" He stared at his blonde mother as she munched on her funnel cake looking at all the different booths, "Is she high?" he whispered to his other mother.

Regina gave him an amused look, "No, but I think her magic might be affecting her mood. I don't think she even knows it. I'm afraid to have her try anything what with your brother and sister."

Henry nodded, "Yeah, don't want anything to happen to them." He looked back to Emma and gave a disgusted face, "She just peed her pants."

Emma was looking down at her pants when Regina looked over to her, "Oh! No! It's go time." She tentatively walked over to Emma, "Come on, darling."

"We need to go to the hospital." Emma said as she ate another bite of funnel cake.

"We are, my love."

"I'm eating this funnel cake. No one can stop me." She said through a full mouth.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Regina turned back to their son, "Go find your grandparents and tell them not to worry or rush to the hospital just to wait, but Emma's in labor. And you're going to stay with them tonight, like we talked about, all right?"

"Okay, mom." Henry nodded then started weaving through the crowd.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Dylan Nathan Swan-Mills and Winifred "Fred" Amy Swan-Mills were two very happy, very healthy babies. When Hook and Cora came to town, and found that not only was Regina happy, but that she had the family she had always wanted, it blew Cora's plans out of the water. She retreated and backed off to stew about what to do for a long while.

When Hook found out that Dylan was his, he begged and pleaded to be apart of his life. Emma being Emma conceded, as long as Hook forever fought on their side and his only goal would be to protect his son and his son's sister and other brother. He agreed and Nathan and Fred too quickly became the apples of his eyes.

When Cora did resurface, it was to apologize to Regina. And to tell her that she would have been enough if she'd kept her heart where it was supposed to be.

Emma and Regina finally got their happily ever after.


	2. Because of Cora and Hook

**Because of Cora and Hook**

**pamrenea asked you: so I dont ususally do the prompts. But i love the things I've read that you wrote.I'm new to SQ. But i would like to see a prompt where, Emma returns from FTL pregnant from a one night stand, she finds out the news just as she and Regina are sorting out thier feelings each other. But Regina surprises herself and Emma as she steps up to the plate. Can be a mix of fluff and early angst.**

**AN: If you hit control (or command) + f and type 'Emma was nauseous' then you don't have to read the first half over. Everything is the exact same up until that line.**

**In this one though, Cora and Hook come in (hence the title of this chapter). It is vastly different from the other one. More serious. I'm not sure how this one came out of me, but it is actually the one I typed first. I wanted the story to be like the first chapter, a little serious at the beginning then funny and fluffy, but this is what happened the first time I wrote it and I didn't want to chunk it, I still think it's worth reading. So, I hope you enjoy!**

**PS this one does have different babies than the other chapter.**

Emma looked at the three different sticks. All of them read 'pregnant'.

"God, damn it."

She stood up, placed them back in the packages and the packages back in the paper sack. She carefully moved around her room, selecting a thick, bulky sweater over her usual leather jacket and gathered her keys, wallet and phone. She then grabbed the paper sack and moved to the front of the apartment.

It had thankfully been the first time she was alone since she and Mommy Margaret got back to Storybrooke. It seemed everyone had to stop by and make sure they were all right. People she'd never even heard of, people she'd only met once—they all came bearing goodies and sympathies and 'glad you're back's. She just needed time.

She'd opened the door to go to an alleyway dumpster and dispose of the pregnancy tests—the last thing she needed was her mother, her father or her son looking in the trash and seeing the pregnancy tests. Snow knew that something happened between her and Hook, but she didn't know specifically what it was. And Emma sure wasn't planning on advertising her sexcapade with the arrogant pirate.

She saw black boots in her line of vision as she looked down, ducking her way out of the apartment. "Regina." She looked up to brown eyes that showed the woman's every weakness. She hid the bag behind her back, "What.. are you doing here?"

Regina swallowed hard, "I'm not sure… I just… I needed to see you. See for myself that you were really okay."

"You have seen me. You made positive that Snow and I got through the portal…"

"I know, but that was all too brief. Especially…" Regina trailed off. She sucked in her bottom lip and looked to the ground.

Emma nodded, "I know." She nodded again and stepped aside, "You want to come in?"

"You were going somewhere…?" Regina pointed out.

"Yeah… Just to a dumpster. It can wait."

"Why a dumpster?"

Emma shook her head, "Doesn't matter." She turned, keeping the paper bag from view and walked to the kitchen counter, slipping the bag between the two potted plants that took over the breakfast bar. She turned back around, "You want anything? Coffee? Water? We might have juice…"

Regina shook her head, "I'm fine."

Emma nodded and pursed her lips to the side, "So… What are we going to talk about?"

"Why you kissed me."

"Which time?"

Regina sucked in a quick breath, "All three of them." She looked down a moment.

The brunette looked despondent and perplexed. Emma couldn't help the sad smile that came to her face as she walked back to the couch the other woman was standing in front of and sat down. She silently gestured for the brunette to sit with her and once Regina did, Emma took a couple of deep breaths before she began, "I don't know… The first time. I don't know why." She shrugged. "The mob tried to take you and we wouldn't let them. Ruby was watching Henry and you needed someone too. So, I followed you inside the mansion. When you turned and looked at me in that questioning, half-angry, half-hopeful way… I just kissed you. I guess I just wanted to."

Regina stared at her with undivided attention. "And the second?"

The blonde looked down at the coffee table. It took her a moment to form the right words, but even the right words got mixed up with her hormones now racing through her body, and what came out was, "I thought the wraith was going to take you away from me."

"So you kissed me to what? Stop it?"

"I kissed you so that you knew that the mansion kiss wasn't just a fluke, or a one-time thing, or a seizing the opportunity event. That it meant something."

Regina swallowed audibly, causing Emma to look to her blinking eyes. The brunette turned away quickly and tried to subtly wipe her eyes, "And the third?" She asked after turning back to the blonde.

"The third was a thank you for sucking up all that magic to let me and Mary Margaret back through the portal. And to tell you that you still meant something to me." Emma leaned in and kissed Regina's cheek, "And that was to tell you that you still mean something to me, but I don't expect anything."

Regina bit her lip, nodding. She looked off in thought before looking to the blonde again, "So, what does that mean? You don't expect anything?"

"It means that some stuff happened over in the enchanted forest, and… I can't…" Emma shook her head, "I have to take responsibility for them. I have to own up to the mistakes I made. And you shouldn't feel obligated to help me, you shouldn't help me at all." She turned away from the other woman. Standing to get out of feeling so constricted and angry with herself and possibly that the woman before her would be angry with her too.

Regina knit her brows, "What are you talking about? What mistakes? Talking to my mother about Henry? It's no big deal. She can't come here… there's no way left."

"No." Emma laughed dejectedly, angrily at herself, "Not telling Cora that we share a son." She moved to the breakfast bar, sat on a stool and stared at the paper bag she'd hidden. "For letting myself break." She spoke quietly as she reached forward and fingered the bag.

"Letting yourself break? You shouldn't apologize for that… I mean… I should apologize to you… I did it to you, after all. If I hadn't cast the curse, you would have grown up with a happy family in the enchanted forest. None of this would be shocking to you; you'd be able to accept the things, the people, the characters that we all are… Don't apologize for breaking in a place that was probably too overwhelming for your own good. I mean… All things considered, you seem to be taking everything in stride. It's surprising really, how well you're doing…"

"I slept with Captain Hook." Emma didn't look to Regina's eyes, only her general direction, "When there are things that I can't handle emotionally or mentally, or if I'm just too stressed to think, I usually find a man and scratch an itch." She paused a moment, "We found Hook and kind of..used him as a navigator-slash-prisoner. At a certain point, I knew he wouldn't try to get away, so I took the ropes tying his arms together off. He offered to help me go look for a dinner after I got into it with Mulan for ragging on Mommy Margaret. I took him up on it, just because I thought I'd have a chance to..breathe or something… And I did get a chance to breathe…"

"Or something…" Regina couldn't help the dejected tone that came from her.

"Regina—"

"No." Regina shook her head, "Please don't. Don't do whatever it is you're about to do… I don't… I don't think I can handle it." She stood and turned from the blonde.

"So this is ending before it even started?" Emma wasn't ashamed of the tears that sprang to her eyes.

Regina whipped back around to face Emma, "What 'this'? There is no 'this'." She moved to the front door, putting on her coat and gloves.

"There is." Emma's voice was small.

Regina wouldn't have heard her if she wasn't listening for a retort. She opened the door. Before taking a step to the hallway, she turned her head to the side, "I just need time to think about all of this."

"I have options. I still have enough time to have options." Emma got up and moved halfway between the counter and the door.

Regina turned fully to the blonde with a fierce look in her eyes, "You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting. You're not suggesting of exercising your right to choose for me."

"I wouldn't do it for you… I'd do it for me… and for us."

"No." It was a simple word. But the woman packed a punch behind it. She left with a slam of the door.

Emma of course regretted ever making the suggestion. She knew in the long run, she wouldn't choose to abort. But it was a nice option to think about when you've only just met and started a relationship with your other child that you chose to give up for adoption, you just found out that your parents are fairytale characters and also have been frozen in time so they're your age, the woman you have come to realize you have deep impenetrable feelings for is the same woman who tried to kill your fairytale parents, and your newest baby daddy is also a fairytale character—and most importantly, all of this is happening when none of it could be possible. The option of being able to choose was nice; at least she had the ability to choose something in her life. Even though she knew she'd never exercise that right personally. It was nice to know it was there.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma was in the diner. She was way far on the other side of the diner from the Mayor—she had to give her time and respect, or was trying to or whatever. She was just getting ready to enjoy a delicious bacon cheeseburger. It was greasy, but not too much to be completely disgusting. There was no lettuce or tomato getting in her way, it was just the beef, the cheese, the bacon, and the secret amazing sauce that's not plain mayonnaise. Lunchtime was about to be on like Donkey Kong.

That was right up until the burger was ripped from her eager clutches and taken away by none other than the Mayor herself.

"Hey!" Emma watched Regina put the burger back in the basket and push it to the other side of the table. She watched as the woman's other hand placed a different basket in front of her. "What the hell is this?"

"It's a bruschetta chicken sandwich with fruit, Greek yogurt and a miniscule amount of fries as sides."

Emma reached for her soda, but Regina was quick to take that away too. "What the freaking hell?!" She looked up angry at the other woman as she watched her walk away with her meal, place it on the counter, lean in to Ruby asking her something, then come back with two glasses of water.

"Red meat is bad during…" Regina trailed off knowing Emma probably hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy.

"Since when?"

"Since I read the books and that's what they said." The brunette's stern, angry tone came out in a huff as she sat down. "You have to change your diet for a while. No red meats. And if you do slip, you cannot, CANNOT eat it if there is pink in the middle."

"That burger didn't have pink in the middle!"

"You eat burgers and steaks at medium. There was pink." The brunette's voice was deadpan.

"Let me eat the burger!"

"No."

Emma huffed, knowing she wasn't going to get the brunette to change her mind. She dug into the broomhilde chicken or whatever the crap sandwich. She was surprised to find it wasn't awful. It wasn't a bacon cheeseburger, but it was okay. After a few bites, she looked up to see that Regina had her eyes closed. She looked like she was in pain, or trying to hide pain.

"…Regina?" Her voice was soft.

"Don't. Not yet."

"I'm sorry." Emma tried.

"I know." Regina breathed the words out.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma had been hiding. She was hiding in her room at home and hiding in her office at work. She didn't do anything unless it was asked of her and she didn't go anywhere unless forced.

Regina walked into the Sheriff's station. It had been two weeks since Emma told her she was pregnant and a week and a half since the diner incident. And She knew that Emma hadn't done shit to schedule a doctor's appointment.

She looked into the inner office to see the door closed and the blinds drawn. With narrowed eyes and a purse of her lips, she walked up to the door and twisted the knob.

It was locked.

No worries. She took off a glove and let magic flow through her fingers. It took no effort to open the door this time.

Emma looked up from her iPad in surprise, "Hey! How did you get in?"

"Magic." Regina gave the sheriff a look.

"Oh…" After another moment, when Regina turned around to the coat rack, Emma decided it was safe to go back to Temple Run: Brave Edition.

"Come along, Sheriff." Regina stopped her from getting invested, after finding the blonde's coat, and tried to hand it to her, "You can bring your toy."

"Wha—It's not a toy! It's an electronic device that let's you handle business and millions of other things all in pretty, pretty packaging."

"Yes, and you watch Netflix or play games. It's your toy. Let's go." Regina tried to hand her, her coat again.

"Okay, okay!" Emma shut the case of her iPad and stood, taking the proffered coat. She knit her brows, "Wait… Where are we going?"

"The doctor."

"What? No! I don't need—"

"Did you exercise your right to choose?"

"NO!" Emma gave the other woman a glare, "I never was going to! But—"

"Then you need to go to the doctor." Regina crossed her arms and waited. A standoff that she'd had what felt like billions of times with their son. She now knew where he got the defiance for defiance's sake from, "Spit spot."

Emma glared at the desk as she jerked her way into her jacket, "I don't _need_ to go to the doctor."

"Yes, you do. You need to go for your first exam and to get your vitamins."

"But I'm busy!"

"Yes, I can see that." Regina moved to the office door and waited, arms crossed. She wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

And Emma knew that. So, after buttoning herself up and putting on her gloves, She grabbed her iPad and moved to the exit. She stared with as much intensity as she could muster at the brunette, keeping her from moving, and when she got close enough to really stare into Regina's eyes and touch her arm, she did, "I was never going to get an abortion."

"Then why did you suggest it?" Regina asked unimpressed with the words that came from the blonde.

"Because I didn't want you to leave."

"You were trying to say anything that would get me to stay?" The sarcasm was not lost on the blonde's ears.

"Yes."

Regina pulled from their closeness and looked at the other woman sternly, studying her, "And you thought… with everything you've known, could have known about me, that suggesting killing the fetus growing in your belly would be a way to get me to stay?"

"I was desperate. Being desperate doesn't make you smart. It's makes you desperate."

"I left because of what you said."

"You left because you couldn't be around me, not because of what I said."

"It was partly because of what you said." Regina willed the blonde to accept that statement.

Emma nodded, "I know. It pushed you out rather than pulled you back in. And that's why I needed to tell you that I was never—"

"Okay." Regina interrupted. Her closed eyes told Emma more than her open ones would have. She was hurting Regina more by telling her that. She was still causing her pain. When the mayor opened her eyes, a mask was put on, "Let's get you to the doctor."

"Okay." Emma let the older woman lead the way.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma was nauseous.

"Hey, Emma? Ruby just called. She said she saw Regina last night going to Archie's… She said she looked and smelt suspicious, like she had an agenda."

Emma brought her head from her desk to look at her father.

"Emma, dear? Are you all right?" Snow was quick to move from the desk in the main office to Emma's side. She took her face, "You look a little green."

"It's not easy." Emma tried to joke, but her feeling nausea finally caught up with her. She grabbed the trashcan under her desk and let her breakfast go.

"Oh my gods!" Snow jumped back.

Charming quickly moved into the inner office. He waited a moment, "Listen, Emma… Snow and I will take care of it."

"Thank you." Emma nodded as she came up for air.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma could not believe that Archie was dead and that their only suspect was the woman she lov—had impenetrable feelings for. She could not believe that she was walking up the pathway to Regina's house with her parents to question her whereabouts the night before.

"Emma…? What—?"

"Save it, Regina." Snow stifled the other woman.

Regina glared to the pixie-cut woman and looked questioningly at a very tired-looking, very ill-looking Emma. The blonde sighed, dejectedly as she looked up to the brunette, "Is it all right if we ask you some questions?"

Regina knit her brows, "Of course." She nodded, seeing the pleading look on the blonde's face.

"We actually need you to come to the station…" Emma shook her head, angry that she could do nothing more.

"Alright."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Regina watched Emma, Charming and Snow walk into the interrogation room, "Glad to see the Sheriff's station is a family business. Why am I here?"

"You know why you're here. Because of Archie." Snow crossed her arms.

"Oh, it's now against the law to get in an argument with someone?"

"It is if you go to their office later that night and kill 'em." David provided.

Regina looked between husband and wife. She was waiting for a punch line. When she realized there was none, she let the logic settle in and looked to Emma, "Archie's dead?"

"Stop it, Regina. Ruby saw you going into his office last night."

Regina shook her head, "Then she's lying. I was home all evening." She stared at Emma, "Honestly can you believe that I would…" She swallowed, "After everything?"

"We've seen you kill countless people before. What makes this different?" Snow asked.

"How about the fact that I am changing? Trying to turn my life around for my son and for…" She looked at the table, stopping herself from continuing.

"For…?" Charming seemed to be bored.

Emma moved from her spot against the wall, into the fight zone, "Can you guys give us a minute? Just, please go wait in the office?"

Snow stared at her, "Be careful, Emma. You've no idea of what she's capable."

Emma stared at the woman she was supposed to call 'Mom'. She looked down and back up bashfully, "I do. I do know." She said as she walked them to the door and shut and locked it.

"Emma I didn't do it! I was going to Archie for therapy! I've been seeing him since you left! Trying to sort everything out… My feelings, where I fit in, in this world I created. I didn't—I didn't do it, he was helping me!"

Emma walked over to her and knelt down during Regina's rant. She nodded as she looked up at her, "I know. I know." She said as she pulled the woman in for a hug and let her hold on tight. "We have to find out who did. The fact that it clearly led to you means that it was someone else."

Regina knit her brows and pulled back suspiciously, "How do you figure?"

"Well, if you killed him there wouldn't be a trace of evidence, or for that matter, there wouldn't be a motive. You'd have been too stealthy and too hardcore. And you wouldn't have walked, you would have poofed… no one would have seen you…"

Regina tilted her head, "You really do know what I'm capable of."

"Yeah." Emma nodded.

Regina put her hands on the blonde's shoulders, "And you still want me?"

"Yeah." Emma nodded again.

"You don't care about my past crimes?"

"No." Emma shook her head.

"Okay…" Regina nodded. She took her hands from the blonde's shoulder and wiped her now teary eyes, "Okay. Good. Because… because I don't care about yours." She looked at the younger woman sincerely.

"You don't?"

Regina shook her head, "No." she whispered.

"Good. 'Cause I think I'm falling in love with you." Emma whispered back.

"I think I'm falling in love with you, too." The mayor continued whispering.

Emma smiled, "We'll figure this out." She gave a single nod of determination.

"We'll figure this out."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma beat on the door to the mansion. She'd just barely gotten a head start from her parents. When Regina answered this time, she pushed into the mansion, "You need to go into hiding. Now." She took Regina's face, "You hear me? They think you did it."

"How?" Regina pulled from the blonde with question in her eyes.

"I used magic and they saw you do it…" Emma looked down, "But I think I might have messed it up? I've been really worried about you and… I was thinking about you, so maybe I magicked you in Pongo's vision?"

Regina shook her head, "No, darling, that's not how it works."

Emma didn't have time to acknowledge the endearment like she normally would have, "Then why were you there when you weren't?"

"I don't know."

Emma shook her head, "You have to go into hiding." Regina moved upstairs, "Not to your room!" the blonde was exasperated as she followed her.

Regina was in her jewelry box. She pulled out a necklace of a small apple. "When you decide it's okay for me to come out, hold onto this charm with your hand and think of me. It will take you to where I am. I won't come out unless I know it's you."

"Not for anyone, you here me? If someone can clone themself…." Emma trailed off. She shook her head at the thought and put the necklace on, "Get out of here."

"Okay." She nodded, but stopped the blonde from moving down the stairs, "Wait." She took the sheriff's face in her hands and kissed her. Hard. "Okay, go."

Emma swallowed and despite the situation, gave the brunette a drunken, happy smile, "Yeah."

~0~0~0~0~0~

When Archie walked into the apartment, Emma didn't know what to do. She knew that she needed to get Regina.

"Can you watch him for a bit? I need to…" She didn't finish her sentence. She was already grabbing the apple and thinking of Regina. She was already gone.

Emma looked around the room. "A fake, white apple tree?" She looked around, hoping Regina was there somewhere. "Regina?" She called.

The brunette came from another room, "It's okay?"

"Archie's alive." Emma smiled as the brunette walked over to her, "Where the hell are we?"

"Under my father's tomb."

"Oh… that's both creepy and kind of perfect." The blonde said as she pulled back.

"Yeah." Regina nodded. She stared at Emma, "Do you know who it was?"

"Your mom."

Regina stared at her angrily, "I knew I should have killed her when I had the chance." She shook her head, "She's trying to ruin me, to force me to her side."

"Still… she's your mom."

"She's a person. A person with no heart."

"Don't say that—"

"It's the literal truth. She ripped her own heart out." Regina looked to the surprised blonde, "And I'm going to get it and put it back where it belongs, and we're going to have another child and a happily ever after."

Emma couldn't find Regina more alluring in that moment. The determination and hearing that they were going to get _their_ happily ever after. It was everything the blonde never thought she could ever want.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"I can't." Emma said as she stared at Rumple, who decided it was perfectly all right to come into her apartment, "Literally, I can't go with you. I'm not arguing, I'm not trying to get out of owing you a favor, I just can't go."

Rumple glared at the woman, "You will go—"

"No. I won't."

"A deal is a deal—"

"And we'll just have to come up with some other way!"

"Why?" Rumple was mere inches from her face at this point.

Emma looked to Henry then back to the man, "Because I'm pregnant." She whispered. "And the father's a fairytale character. So unless you have two of those fancy cloak things, I'm not going. Our agreement was a favor for the freedom of a child, not a child for a child. I'm not going to risk crossing the border with a fairytale fetus without a 100% guarantee that everything will be okay. Not so you can find your son because your girlfriend doesn't remember you anymore and you suddenly feel the need to work our your relationships."

Rumple glared at her before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind him.

"Why is he so mad?" Henry asked after waiting a moment, making sure he wasn't going to barge back into their house.

"Because I said some not nice things and I'm refusing to go with him to wherever to find his son."

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why won't you help him find his son?"

"Because I can't cross the border."

"Yes you can. Me and you are the only two."

"Yes, but it's not just me." Emma sighed, not wanting to have this conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm pregnant, kid. And like I told Gold, I'm not going to cross the border without a 100% guarantee that this new kid will be all right and nothing magical or medical will happen to it by me crossing the border."

"You're pregnant?" Henry scrunched his face and tilted his head to the side, "Who's the father?"

"You haven't met him…"

"Captain Hook?" He asked.

Emma looked down, "Yeah."

"But I thought you liked my mom."

"I do! Henry… I… I _like_ your mom. I have impenetrable feelings for your mom."

"Then why are you pregnant with Captain Hook's baby?"

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma walked from the station, across the street to meet up with Regina and get some cocoa. Or, at least she was until a certain accented voice stopped her, "You know, the thing about small towns, Love? Gossip travels faster than the plague."

Emma rolled her eyes and turned around, "What do you want, Hook?"

"Is it true?" He looked her up and down, "Do you have my baby in your belly?"

"Yes."

"And you weren't going to tell me?" The pirate seemed offended.

This made the blonde sigh, "No. Because you weren't supposed to be able to find a way here to reek havoc."

"Well, I'm here now, Love."

"And?" The blonde was clearly unimpressed.

"And I'm saying that I want to be a part of my child's life."

"And I'm saying fat chance." She turned to move to the door.

"You can't just do that!" Hook insisted, reaching for Emma's arm, "I have a right—"

"Yeah, well, you lost that right when you started working for the bad guy."

Hook knit his brows, "So, if I stop working _with_ Cora then I'll be able to see the baby?"

"If you take responsibility for all your ill deeds, realize that they are bad, and yes, stop being on the bad side… Then I will _consider_ letting you see the kid. But you have to own up for yourself first."

"Is everything all right out here?" Regina's voice was hard and bitter. And the glare she was giving Hook might have just killed him where he stood had Emma not backed away completely from the man and walked over to her.

"It's fine." Emma pushed her hand through the space between Regina's arm and body, linking at the elbows.

"Your Majesty." Hook gave the brunette a dirty look, "How lovely to see you again."

Regina inhaled the bitter, winter air, "Hook. Stay away from my family. That's your only warning. I don't play baseball; there are no strikes in my game."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Your mother—"

"My mother is not my family. She's the woman out to ruin me." The brunette woman straightened a bit more, "In fact, do me a favor, give her a message for me."

"I'm not in the mail carrying business."

"Do it anyways. Out of the kindness of your heart. What little heart you have left." The look Regina gave Hook made even Emma a little scared to be around her, "Tell her that if she comes after my family, that I will kill her. And no magic will be necessary."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Months went by. Hook looked up at the once again lively apple tree that Regina cared so deeply for. Even though it was night, he could see just how red and delicious the apples would taste if he were to risk it and eat one. And, being a pirate, a robber of sorts, he really, really wanted a taste of the evil queen's forbidden fruit.

Just after plucking the juicy redness from the tree, the door to the mansion opened and footfalls came quickly towards him.

"Can I help you with something?" Regina asked in a tone that told him to tell her why he was there or she might just murder him like she seemed to want with her mother.

"How's Emma?" He asked nonchalantly.

Regina crossed her arms, annoyed. "…Fine. We were just heading to bed. She is seven months pregnant now, after all, tired all the time."

"Yes, I know." The pirate looked down. "How's the baby? How's my baby girl?"

"Good. Healthy. She doesn't stop moving." Regina gave a half smile, "It drives Emma insane; she thinks telling her to stop will make her stop, but that only seems to rile the baby up more."

"I want to see her… After she's born."

"Then prove to Emma that you've changed. Prove to me that you've changed. Prove to someone that you are at least trying to change…" She inhaled, "You have to give to receive." She took the apple from his hand, "This is something you can't take. You have to earn this." She took a bite.

"Why are you counseling me?"

"Because you gave me my second child. I can be nice to you for that as long as I don't think of how it came about."

Hook, leaning against the trunk gave the woman a lazy smile, "She tell you all about that, eh? That was a good evening."

Regina started walking away from the man.

"No, I'm sorry!" He tried to get her to stay, "A thousand apologies. Sincerely."

"Mhmm." Regina crossed her arms and gave him an unimpressed look.

He sighed and looked down, "So… I have to give to receive, hmm?"

"Yes."

"And it will be worth it?"

Regina looked at the pirate's chest a moment, "It will be everything you've secretly dreamed of. You won't have Milah, but it will be everything else you've ever wanted."

Hook nodded before taking the apple back from her, biting it himself, and strutting back into the neighborhood and into the night.

Emma opened the door and waddled into the backyard, "What did he want?"

Regina turned back to her now very pregnant girlfriend, "He wanted to know what he had to do to see her after she was born."

"I've told him that. Repeatedly." The blonde crossed her arms.

"I know, but that doesn't mean that he received the message." Regina turned the blonde back to face the house and rubbed her lower back as they walked back inside.

"And now?" Emma asked settling into a kitchen chair.

"I think he might just have received the message." Regina rolled her eyes and looked to the two figures in the living room, "Which is more than I can say for your parents." She said loud enough for them to hear.

"Yeah, yeah. Whine and complain all you want, but the moment you pull magic on us is the moment you prove you're not who you're telling our daughter you are. And that is the moment we will get out of your hair, daughter and grandchildren in tow." Snow gave the brunette snippy smile as she brought her and Charming's popcorn bowl into the kitchen.

Charming came in, hopefully to stop an argument before it started, "Now, now, Snow. Regina's provided for us and nothing has been poisoned. She wouldn't do that to Henry, Emma or the baby."

Snow rolled her eyes, "You're just being nice because Emma has you wrapped around her pinky."

Emma rolled her eyes, "No, Mary Margaret, I think what Emma is growing inside her has David wrapped around _her_ finger."

David grinned to his daughter, "I'll tell you what, I look thirty, but I feel sixty. I'm ready to be a granddad again." He took his wife by the shoulders, "Let's go to bed."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Cora broke into the mansion the day after they brought Cadence Jillian 'CJ' Swan-Mills-Jones (though no one knew about the second hyphen and third last name except Emma and Regina) home.

The witch glared at her daughter when she found her holding the baby, playing house.

"You were such a waste." She announced her presence.

Charming and Snow were up, ready for a weaponless fight in the split second it took them to realize who it was.

"I spent years on you, training you. Making you become the best that you could be and what do you do? Every time you get close to becoming something real, you throw it away. On what? _Love_." Magic began flickering at Cora's fingertips.

Regina gave the baby back to Emma and stood in front of the two and Henry, who had been seated on her other side.

"Mother. Leave. Now. You're not welcome here."

"I'm fine being unwelcome. It makes me all the more menacing." She gave her daughter a fake laugh, "And that makes these two idiots jump in fear at any given move I make." She stomped Snow and Charming's direction, proving her point as they jumped and clung to each other.

It was in this moment, that Regina caught a shadow in the mirror behind her mother. But it was no shadow, it was Hook. He seemed to be waiting on an unsuspecting moment.

"What do you want? We've nothing to give you. Nothing you value."

"That's where you're wrong. I need power. In order to obtain that power, I need a heart." She looked passed Regina to the blonde behind her, "And not just any heart."

"That's out of the question."

"And what are you going to do? You, who couldn't give me real grandchildren, and couldn't just get over your precious Daniel and marry the King. No, you had to kill him and become untrustworthy just as you come into power. You were never…" Cora fell to her knees, grabbing her chest.

Hook stood behind her, his hand empty and a small chest between his body and hook.

Regina stared at the chest he held then up to his face as she moved closer to the older, evil version of herself, "Is that?"

"Her heart. Yes. It took a while for me to track it down. Looks like I found it and put it back where it belongs at a rather dramatic moment." He gave his token cheeky pirate smile.

Regina helped her mother sit up, and it was in this moment, as she caught her mother's eyes that she saw all the approval that she ever wanted or needed, "Mother?"

"You would have been enough." Cora let tears fall from her eyes as she clung to her daughter. "You are enough."

Hook looked from the mother and daughter to Emma to the bundle in her arms then turned to walk out of the mansion, dropping the chest, letting it break on the floor as he went.

"Hook, wait." Emma called. She hoisted herself out of the comforts of the couch and walked over to him, "You should meet your daughter. This is Cadence Jillian Swan-Mills-Jones. But we're gonna call her CJ"

"'Jones'?" He asked.

"You're her parent too." Emma smiled and gave the baby to the other man, "And you deserve to be a part of her, and a part of her life."

Hook nodded, staring at the bundle in his arms now, a couple tears escaping his eyes, "She's beautiful."

"She is." Emma nodded.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The only fights Cora ever got in after getting her heart back were with Charming and Snow, and even Rumple, who decided he got to be a grandparent since the oldest was his biological grandchild, and sometimes the ever quiet Belle over grandparent time. She refused to waste anymore time worrying over power and instead focused on feeling everything completely.

Rumple finally got Emma to honor her agreement and find his son. And that led to a whole lot of drama that Emma didn't have time for. Rumple was actually trying to form a relationship with Bae and Henry, and reforming a relationship with Belle.

Hook quickly became a good father to CJ and a good father figure for Henry. He got in a scuffle here and there with Bae over fathering Henry too much, and not wanting to deal with it, Emma would give one of them CJ and all would be calm for a while.

Henry loved being a big brother and when his blonde mother did finally honor her agreement to find Rumple's son, and apparently his father, he loved being a son to two fathers and two mothers and five-ish grandparents (depending on how Belle felt about being clumped in that category).

Emma and Regina had to have a _lot_ of conversations about the fact that both of her baby daddies seemed to come into their life just as they were starting it—the joint life, the one life that is _theirs_. Emma had to do a lot of begging and apologizing for a very long time, but alls well that ends well because four years later, Regina and Emma made a baby of their own. Addison Olivia Swan-Mills was born into the most chaotic, insane, weird, dysfunctional family. But the only thing that mattered was that she, her sister and her brother were loved.


End file.
